


soon you'll get better (but not too soon)

by rachelwrites



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:42:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24398950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rachelwrites/pseuds/rachelwrites
Summary: nico spends some time in the infirmary and most of that time is spent bothering will. or is it really bothering if he enjoys it? who's to say. a "three days in the infirmary" fic.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo & Will Solace, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 5
Kudos: 200





	soon you'll get better (but not too soon)

**Author's Note:**

> hey everyone! so due to covid complications i’m out of a job for the summer, and while i’m looking i’ve opened fic commissions. [here’s the link to my tumblr post talking about it](https://behradtarazi.tumblr.com/post/617147495585398784/im-opening-fic-commissions-please-signal-boost)
> 
> anyway, here's my take on a "three days in the infirmary" fic, happy pjo series on disney plus celebration

The funny part about it was Nico had actually been having a perfectly fine, better than usual evening until Will showed up at his cabin around one in the morning.

They had defeated Gaea the morning before. He was mourning the loss of Leo but overall he felt… okay. Better than he had in a while. Hazel was safe. He had gotten years’ worth of feelings and resentments off his chest when talking to Percy. He had even talked to a cute boy he liked a little bit without turning into a puddle of shadows.

Nico had stayed in Cabin 13 many times, but this one was the first time he didn’t feel quite so uncomfortable. He didn’t sleep, of course, but he kept quiet while reading a book.

Then the banging started. Pounding on his front door. “Di Angelo!” He heard a familiar voice yell. “Open up!”

Nico smiled a little to himself before putting on his grumpy face. He rolled out of bed, mussing his hair in an attempt to make it look like he’d been sleeping. Nico opened the door with a yawn and a “Good morning, Solace.”

Will turned a little pink at the sight of sleepy Nico, which Nico had to admit made him a little happy. “Nico, why the _hell_ are you in here and not the infirmary?”

Nico’s eyes widened as he realized the pink was not flustered Will at all, but just a step on the way to an angry red Will face. “You… were serious about that?”

“Was I serious… Was I serious! Of _course_ I was serious! I’m a healer! I don’t just tell people to go to the infirmary as a laugh!”

Nico’s smile flattened. “I am absolutely, under no circumstances, spending three days in an infirmary.”

“Sucks!” yelled Will. “Because I’m your doctor, so you have to listen to what I say!”

“Okay, fine,” Nico said, giving in a little more easily than he would have liked. Not his fault that Will was cute. “I’ll see you first thing in the morning, I swear on Styx.”

“Nuh-uh,” said Will, “Right now. I was doing my checks and freaked out when I didn’t see you in the bed I so kindly reserved for you. I was concerned you had melted out of existence. How am I supposed to believe you won’t just disappear overnight to avoid recuperation time?”

Nico smiled, gritting his teeth a little. “Will, you’re being a bit unreasonable. What reason could you possibly have to believe I wouldn’t show up in the morning?”

Will smirked. “How about the fact that you’re here, right now, instead of in the infirmary where I told you to be _hours_ ago?”

Fuck. He wasn’t wrong about that one.

He was about to open his mouth to respond, when someone beat him to it. “Gods, Di Angelo!” Connor Stoll yelled from the next bunk over. “Go the infirmary with Will and shut up! We want to go to sleep!”

Nico fixed Will with a glare, while the blonde boy was smiling smugly. “This is your fault,” he said, retreating into his bunk to shove a few things in the bag. “I’m going to make your life miserable. I’m going to be the worst patient you’ve ever had to deal with.”

Somehow, Will’s smile got wider after that. “With all due respect,” he said, “I sincerely doubt that.”

**Day One**

Nico woke with a start the next morning after a disturbingly dreamless sleep. He opened his eyes and immediately hissed, unused to the brightness that seemed to be assaulting him. He looked around trying to gain his bearing and…

“Good morning, Count Dracula,”

Ah. The infirmary. Of course.

Nico put on a sickly sweet smile as he rubbed his eyes and looked up at Will. “Good morning, sunshine.”

Will titled his head in confusion. “That’s not even an insult,” he said, “that’s just a compliment. Bordering on pet name.”

Nico yawned. “Not if I was a vampire it’s not,” he said, stifling a yawn, “It would mean you’re the bane of my existence. And who allows it to be this bright this early?”

“My father,” Will said with a smile, “so watch your mouth. And we need to get you a window in your cabin, it’s unhealthy to be without natural light. No wonder you’re so pale.”

“Scraping back the layers to reveal the answers to the many mysteries of my existence one by one?” asked Nico with a smile.

“Too early for you to be that deep,” said Will, “here, have a banana.”

Nico looked down in confusion, and sure enough Will was holding out a tray filled with food. A banana, a cup of oatmeal, and some apple juice. He looked over the items, pondering for a moment what they might mean. He picked up the apple juice and examined it cautiously, eventually putting it down and looking back to the healer. “What is this?”

“Your breakfast,” said Will.

“Oh no,” said Nico, “I don’t do that.”

Will dropped the tray. “You don’t _do breakfast_?”

“The oatmeal,” Nico said, to no one in particular.

Will sighed, placing his forehead in between his thumb and pointer finger. ‘When you said you were going to be the worst patient in the world, I thought you meant you were going to _try_ to get on my nerves. Not that I would just go insane because of your unhealthy habits.”

Nico smiled. “I totally forgot about that! Thanks for reminding me!”

“Gods, what am I gonna do with you Death Boy?” Nico sat and began to silently eat the banana that survived the fall while Will picked himself up and began to make his rounds to the other patients.

Nico pulled his book out of his bag and began to read, but quickly found that attempting to focus was entirely futile. Watching Will flit around the infirmary proved to be far too distracting. He checked in on every patient, going straight down the line, easily conversing with each of them. Nico was suddenly reminded of how different he and Will were, which sent a flare of hurt through his body, though he wasn’t entirely sure why.

“Hey,” a voice said from next to him, “Do you want to play a game with me? You look bored.”

Nico turned to look and immediately wondered if one of the Athena kids had somehow invented a time machine mirror. The kid in the bed next to him had a cast on his arm and looked almost exactly like he did the day Percy got him and his sister from Westover Hall. A few years younger maybe, his skin a little darker and his hair a little lighter, but the big eyes and toothy grin were exactly the same. It certainly didn’t help when the boy handed him half a deck of cards and said, “Do you know how to play Mythomagic?”

Nico thought about it for a moment. He was really bored. “Okay, sure,” he said, accepting the deck, “what’s your name?”

“I’m Harley,” said the kid, “and I’m really good at Mythomagic.”

“Well Harley, I’m Nico. And so am I.”

Two hours and five games later Nico was ashamed to admit he was getting his ass handed to him. He had won only one out of the five, and he wasn’t entirely sure that Harley hadn’t thrown the game to make him feel better. He grimaced looking at his cards and was thankful to hear a familiar voice behind him say “Stress isn’t good for your health, you know.”

Nico turned around, trying to scowl but unable not to smile. “I’m not stressed Solace, I’m winning.”

Will looked straight over Nico’s head. “Is he telling the truth?” Will asked Harley.

Harley looked up at Will with a big toothy grin. “Nope!” Nico turned to the younger boy and stuck his tongue out, which made Harley erupt in peals of laughter.

A small smile ghosted across Will’s face at the scene. “I’m sorry to break up the party,” said Will, “But Harls, I have some pain killers for your arm. They’re gonna put you to sleep, though.” Harley smiled and nodded, accepting his fate easily.

Nico watched with great care as Will poured a glass of a mysterious liquid into a paper cup before handing it to Harley. The younger boy chugged the tiny cup and laid down, passing into sleep relatively easily. “What was that?” Nico asked Will rather quietly, so as not to wake the recently sleeping child. “Nectar and herbs?”

“Lavender tea with drinkable child’s Tylenol mixed in.” Will flashed a grin and sat down om the end of Nico’s bed. “If it works, it works.” Nico’s jaw dropped, more than a little in awe of his doctor.

Before he had the chance to ask about a million follow up questions, (does camp always use Western medicine? Had the healers just been lying to them this whole time?) Piper walked through the front door, Jason shuffling along behind her.

Will jumped up and immediately walked over to the pair. Nico afforded Jason a small wave, and in return the son of Jupiter just about ran over to him and sat down on the bed. “Nico, are you okay?” Jason asked. “Why are you in here?”

“Political reasons,” said Nico, jabbing a thumb in Will’s direction in an attempt to get his attention. “This one offered me death by tired Hermes campers or three days with him in the infirmary.”

Will turned around to stick his tongue out at Nico. Jason looked between the two and said, “You made the right choice.”

Piper and Will joined Nico and Jason at the bed. “Is this legal?” Nico asked, suddenly feeling a little claustrophobic. “Like not crowding the patient or whatever?”

“You’re fine,” said Will, “so shut up. Jason, tell me more about the glasses.”

Jason blushed a little, and Nico suddenly realized the boy was wearing glasses, which was new. “Well,” said Jason, “we met your brother. Half-brother! The godly one, Asclepius. He gave me these glasses and they were perfect. But I’m not in love with the frames, and someday I might want to get contacts.” He seemed perfectly content to stop there, but Piper shot him a glare before seating herself at Nico’s other side. Jason sighed. “He didn’t give me the prescription. I’d like to know.”

A looked of understanding crossed across a previously confused Will’s face. “We can definitely help you with that. Come to the back with me, I have the eye equipment somewhere in the closet…” He began muttering to himself and walking away.

Jason looked at Will and back to Nico, utterly bewildered. “He gets like this,” said Nico, “you should follow him.” Jason nodded and sprang up, running after the other blonde.

“So,” Piper said, elbowing him the second she knew Jason and Will were out of earshot, “you and Will?”

Nico turned pink. “What? No. Definitely not.” He turned to Piper, who was giving him a knowing look. He buried his face in his hands. “That obvious, huh?”

Piper smiled. “I’m a daughter of Aphrodite and a I have a future-telling dagger, Nico. Everything is obvious to me.”

Nico lifted his head from his lap. “Are you saying that to make me feel better?”

“Yup.” He groaned and Piper laughed. “So, tell me more!”

Nico shrugged. “What is there to tell? I think he’s cute, he’s too good for me, and I’ll be able to wait out my emotions. Probably. I’m usually able to.”

Piper slapped him.

“Under no circumstances,” she warned, “are you to end your three day hospital stay without letting that nice boy know how you feel. You understand me? I _will_ put a sweetie curse on you.” Nico nodded, a little concerned. “Plus, I think things might work out better than you think. Daughter of Aphrodite and all that.” Nico nodded begrudgingly. Again, something she was just saying to make him feel better.

Will and Jason wandered back from the backroom, Jason with a small slip of paper in his hand. He turned to the girl on the bed and said, “Are you ready to go, Pipes?”

Piper stood up and slung her arms around his neck. “Absolutely,” she said. She gave a final look at Nico and said “Bye Nico! Remember what I said!” She grabbed Jason’s hand and dragged him out of the infirmary before he had the chance to ask any questions.

Unfortunately, that left Nico alone with Will, who _was_ able to ask questions. “What was that about?” he asked.

Nico shook his head in response. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“Well is it nothing, or do I not need to worry about it?”

“Both.”

Will grinned. “Can you keep yourself busy for about an hour? I’ll bring you dinner. I’ll even sit with you.”

The thought of dinner with Will was exciting, Nico had to admit. “What will all the other patients say? Will they be mad about the clearly preferential you’re giving me, your favorite patient?”

“I take a dinner break,” said Will, “Kayla or Austin will take over for an hour so I can eat. Plus, you’re not my favorite patient. You’re the absolute worst patient I’ve ever had, remember?”

“Ah, yes,” said Nico, “Of course. See you in an hour, Sunshine.”

“Catch you later, Death Boy.”

Will walked off and Nico rolled his eyes. He needed to come up with a new name for Will to call him. He pulled out his book though and continued his reading from earlier in the day. What seemed like only five minutes later, Will returned with a slice of pizza and a glass of water. “I can get us more if you want,” said Will, “but I figured this was enough for now.”

Nico happily took his slice and began eating. “So,” he said, around a mouth full of pizza, “I think you need to stop calling me Death Boy.” Will laughed, which made Nico pout. “What’s so funny?”

“What would you prefer?” asked Will, stifling his giggles. “Almighty son of Hades? Lord of Darkness? _The Ghost King_?” The last name made Will erupt in laughter again.

Nico groaned and covered his face with a hand. Peeking between two of his fingers, he asked, “Who told you that story?”

“Dude, I was at camp that summer. I watched you raise all those skeletons and pass out.”

Nico raised an eyebrow. “Really? Then why haven’t you been my doctor for two years at this point?”

Will suddenly became very interested in his feet. “I was still living in the Hermes cabin at the time,” he said, “unclaimed. I mean, I’m pretty good at archery but my singing voice is truly awful. I had no idea where I was supposed to be. I’d only been at camp for like, two weeks.”

Nico put an arm around Will’s shoulder as a reflex to comfort him. “Hey,” said Nico, “but you have the best skill of all, right?”

Will smiled softly. “Yeah,” he said, “I do like healing. It’s what I do best. It’s a bit less… flashy than my dad’s other talents but it’s fine.”

“It’s rare,” Nico corrected. “Health talents like yours? You must be truly, one hundred and ten percent absolutely blessed.”

Will looked at Nico’s arm, seemingly just realizing that it was still draped around him. Nico quickly removed it. “Thanks,” Will said with a smile, a genuine one this time. “Do you want more pizza?”

“Yes, definitely.”

“Great. And after that I’m knocking you out. You look like you haven’t had a good night’s sleep in years.” Will took their plates and headed towards the door to get them seconds.

Nico grinned. Will was great, and this was kind of fun. “Actually,” he called out after Will, “That’s not far from accurate!”

Will shook his head and without turning around said “You’ll be the death of me, Di Angelo!”

Nico felt a pressure in his stomach at that. A good one. _One can only hope_ , he thought.

**Day Two**

Nico woke with a start, gasping for air. He clawed at his unfamiliar surroundings. _Soft_ , he thought, _there’s something soft here, so I’m not_ there _._ He stayed like that for a little while, just squeezing the mattress to reassure himself that he was safe until Will ran in.

The blonde immediately dropped himself on the bed next to Nico and wrapped him up in a hug. _Warm_ , Nico thought, _another reason why I’m not there_. Will combed his fingers through the younger boy’s hair until he had stopped shaking, whispering words of comfort in his ear the whole time.

Several minutes later, Nico felt well enough to talk. “How did you know?” he asked, his voice still raw.

“I heard a scream. Then crying.” Had he been crying? “Then I saw it was you and, well… do you want to talk about it?”

“Bad dream,” Nico muttered, “I was back in the damn jar.”

Will nodded, clearly unknowledgeable about Nico’s previous struggles. “Okay,” he said, “we can talk about that more in the morning. But do you always react like that waking up from a dream?”

Nico nodded. “It used to happen just a little, Bianca was able to calm me down. Then after she died it got worse. Then better. And then worse again.” His _since Tartarus_ was left unsaid.

Will stared at Nico, and the son of Hades shivered. It felt as if Will was staring right through him, to the center of his soul. “Drink some water,” the healer instructed, “And try to go back to sleep. I’ll check up on you first thing in the morning, I swear.”

Nico turned on his side, already feeling sleepy again. “It’s already the morning,” he said, pointing at the alarm clock that clearly read 2:47.

Will sighed, almost sounding relieved. “Look at you, already back to your usual joking self. I’ll see you in the proper morning.”

“G’night Will.”

Nico was already beginning to slip into sleep, but he could still see Will tucking him back in under the covers. “Goodnight, Nico.”

The next time Nico woke up, it was to a knocking on his forehead. “Anyone home,” asked Reyna as he opened his eyes and grumbled. “Good morning, sleepyhead.”

Nico sat up and stretched. He looked outside and saw the sun already high in the sky and campers hard at work at their activities. “What time is it?”

“Around eleven-thirty,” said Reyna, “I wanted to wake you up at nine, but Will said to let you sleep because you had a rough night.”

Nico took in the information. “Okay,” he said. “Why are you here?”

“The Romans are leaving at four,” she said, “and I have to make sure everyone is all packed and ready to go, so this is my chance to say goodbye.”

Oh. _Oh_. He sprang towards Reyna, wrapping her in a tight hug. “I’ll miss you,” he whispered.

“I’ll miss you too, Nico,” she said, “but this won’t be the last you see of me. Not by a long shot.” She leaned back to look him the eyes. “You may be staying here full time in Cabin thirteen, but you’re still New Rome’s ambassador from Pluto. You have to check in every once in a while, for the sake of diplomacy of course.”

Nico nodded, tearing up a little. “Of course, for diplomacy.” He hugged her again and asked, “You’ll Iris message me as soon as you guys get to California safely?” She nodded into his shoulder. “Bye Reyna.”

Reyna let go of him and smiled. “Bye, Nico.” She planted a soft kiss on the top of his head before ruffling his hair and walking out. Nico wiped a tear from his eye and looked up to see Will standing there. He looked stunned and… hurt? The second he realized Nico was staring, he immediately put on a smile.

Will walked over to him. “I’ll deal with you in a minute,” he said jokingly, before moving on to the next bed. “Harley,” he said, gently waking the sleeping boy, “you’re getting discharged.”

Harley rubbed his eyes and yawned as he sat up. “Really?” he asked. Will nodded., and a grin erupted on his face. Harley jumped up to stand on the cot and wrapped his arms around Will’s neck in an enthusiastic hug. “Thank you Will! Most fun doctor ever!”

Will laughed and returned the hug. “Anytime, Harls. But I better not see you in here a lot.”

Harley nodded solemnly and grabbed his bag before turning to Nico. “Bye Nico! When you’re out we can play Mythomagic again!”

Nico nodded. “Sure thing.” Harley ran out of the room, seemingly elated to find his siblings. Nico fixed Will with a pretend glare. “You took away my one friend,” he said, faking furious, “What am I supposed to do now?”

Will shrugged and pointed at the cubbies next to them. “Checkers?”

Thirty minutes later saw Nico winning the game. “You’re seriously terrible at this,” he said as he moved another one of his pieces to the last row. “King me, Solace.”

Will groaned and put another piece on top of Nico’s. “You’re a menace,” he said.

Nico smiled. “I know.”

Will suddenly seemed nervous, and he began to speak again. “So, it was really nice of Reyna to stop by here earlier to say goodbye.”

“Yeah,” Nico said, smiling fondly. “She’s great. I would have died on the trip back from Greece without her. She is… probably the best support system I’ve had in my life.”

Will raised an eyebrow. “So are you and her…”

Nico pondered for a second before his eyes widened when he realized what Will was asking. “No! No, I love her but, not like that. She’s like a sister.”

“Ah,” Will said, looking at his shoes and failing to keep his smile to himself, “gotcha.”

_Deep breath_ , Nico thought to himself, _no better time than the present_. “Um, actually,” he said, “I’m, uh, not into girls at all.” A beat. “I’m gay.”

Will looked up with a full smile. “That’s great!” he said, before immediately blushing. “I mean, not great, not that it’s not great! Being gay is awesome, pride and all that. I just mean, uh,” Will breathed in, “same. I am too. Gay, that is.”

Nico smiled, seeing how cute flustered Will was. “Good to know,” he said, trying to get a little more of a rise out of him.

He hit the mark. Will’s already pink face turned a deep fuchsia and he stood up, almost shaking. “I, uh, have to go check on the other patients. Inventory. Nectar stocking. You know.” He began to walk off.

“What about the end of the game?” Nico called out after Will, grinning ear to ear.

Will turned around, and stuttered. “You were gonna win anyway,” is what Will finally settled on. “Dinner?” Before waiting for an answer, Will began walking backwards and slipped on a stray tissue, falling squarely on his butt. “Ow,” he said with little emotion, before looking back to Nico. “I’m going to, uh…” he pointed over his shoulder and stood up, walking forward this time.

Nico smiled and began re-setting the checkerboard. If people could play chess against themselves, why not checkers?

He was puzzling on his first move against himself, when a small blur ran directly towards him and gave him a hug. He was rather proud of himself for not acting on his first instinct, which was to banish whatever it was touching him to the underworld. A moment of critical thinking allowed him to hug back and say, “Hey Hazel.”

Hazel pulled back and smiled at him. “So, you’re really staying here, huh?”

Nico nodded. “But I’ll Iris message you every day. And I’ll visit a lot, as soon as I can shadow travel again,” he reassured her.

“Okay,” she said, tearing up a little. “I’ll miss you. A lot.”

He smiled. “I’ll miss you too.”

Frank wandered in, rather aimlessly. “Hazel, are you almost ready?” He looked at the two of them on the bed and said, “Man, you’re still stuck in here?”

Nico had to assume that was directed at him. “Yeah,” he said, “Will didn’t give me a lot of choice.”

Frank raised an eyebrow. “Okay dude,” he said, “stay safe and all that.” The last part seemed significantly more sincere than the first.

“Will do,” he said. Pointing between Hazel and Frank, he said, “You two look out for each other.”

Frank nodded and waited in the doorway for Hazel. Hazel smiled at Nico giving him another hug. “Every day?” she asked.

“Every day,” he promised. “Now don’t die on the way back to California.” She laughed and punched him on the shoulder before joining Frank and leaving the infirmary.

Nico sighed, and started thinking about how few people he actually knew at camp. Percy, Annabeth, Jason, and Piper, of course, but besides that? He had no siblings, no immediate or easy friends. The thought made him sad, almost as if he was starting to enjoy the company of other humans again.

On that scary thought, he kicked his feet up and tried to take a short nap. It took about ten minutes of his frustrated tossing and turning before he was presented with a better option. Something hit him on the forehead, forcing him to open his eyes. He looked at his chest to where the object had landed and looked up to Will, grinning mischievously. He held up the offending object. “A chicken nugget?”

“Happy dinner!”

The blonde sat down on the bed next to Nico’s facing him. “So how was your day?”

Nico popped a chicken nugget into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed before answering. “Fine, mostly,” he said, “Hazel stopped by to say goodbye after you left.”

“That’s sweet,” said Will. “So, are you feeling better after last night? You seemed pretty stressed when I found you.”

Last night. Right. “Yeah,” Nico said, “just the usual, dreams about the jar.” He looked at Will who was very politely trying hard not to be curious. “It’s okay, you can ask.”

“You mentioned that last night too. What’s ‘the jar’?”

Nico sighed. “So, I went to Tartarus to try to close the Doors of Death, right? Didn’t go well. Two giants kidnapped me and put me in a bronze jar so I couldn’t breathe. Basically, I put myself in a coma for a week to avoid dying. Make sense?”

“No,” said Will, “But it seems like that’s all you want to say for the moment, so I get it.” Nico was glad that the other boy seemed to understand how boundaries work, due to the fact that there were plenty of people at this camp who didn’t. “So,” Will continued, “I’ve been thinking that you should sit with us at dinner. The Apollo cabin I mean.”

Nico almost choked on the nugget that he was swallowing. “Pardon?”

Will shrugged, attempting to appear nonchalant. “You know, I like having dinner with you. Plus, everyone is leaving for the summer in a week, so it’ll just be me, Kayla, and Austin. They’re great, and you wouldn’t have to eat alone at the Hades table.”

Nico honestly thought it did sound nice. “Chiron would never allow it,” he warned.

Will smiled. “I’m your doctor,” he said, “we’ll write you a note. Oh, Nico gets depressed when he’s not social, he medically needs friends.”

“Chiron would never believe it,” he said. “How about I have a rare mood disorder? When I sit alone cracks open up in the ground.”

Will nodded conspiratorially. “Sometimes zombies crawl out and roam around. You can’t control it, of course.”

Will smiled and Nico returned the action. “We’d have to really sell it,” he said, “and you might have to nurse me back to health again.”

Will flicked his palm. “No big,” he said, “as long as we get to continue this fun little tradition of ours.

_Fun_ was a word Nico was not used to hearing associated with anything having to do with him. Also, _ours_. Will was just full of newness and smiles and surprises.

“Yeah,” Nico said nodding, “It is fun.”

**Day Three**

After a shockingly successful sleep, Will shook Nico awake. “Time to get up,” he said, “we have to get you on a healthy sleep schedule.”

Nico laughed as he sat up. “Sleep schedule? What’s that?”

“So,” Will continued, ignoring Nico’s earlier comment, “Dawn of the final day. How are you feeling?”

“Absolutely ecstatic,” said Nico, trying to hide the fact that he was going to miss all the time spent with Will.

Will’s smile fell just a little bit. “Oh well, with your self-endangering tendencies I’m sure it won’t be too long before your back in here.”

“Too bad,” Nico said, “You’re probably not allowed to fraternize with your patients, huh?”

Will blushed slightly. “Well we played checkers,” he said, “and that’s fine. But anything, uh, unprofessional would be, well, unprofessional.”

Nico smiled. He loved getting under Will’s skin. “Begone, nurse,” he commanded, “your sentences are confusing and make no sense.”

“When you’re dramatic, your 1940s comes out,” said Will. Nico gasped dramatically, clutching at his chest, and Will stuck his tongue out in response. “I gotta check on the other patients, catch you later Death Boy.”

Will stood up and headed to the other half of the infirmary. Nico smiled watching him walk away, a little too long. He stared intensely enough that he missed the least stealthy half-blood in all of camp wander in and sit down next to him. “So, blondes and not brunettes, right? That’s the type?”

Nico just about shot up a foot, startled at the voice. “Gods, Percy,” he said, turning to meet the other boy’s eyes, “We should put a bell on you.”

Percy shrugged, but his eyes were smiling. “Annabeth’s suggested it,” he said. “Sorry I didn’t get here sooner. How are you?”

Nico nodded, still feeling a little awkward. “Good, mostly. Obviously I was exhausted after all the shadow travel,” he said, “and Will’s been taking good care of me.” Percy raised an eyebrow and Nico turned red. “No, not like that!”

Percy held his arms up in surrender and laughed. “You remind me of me, you know that?” Nico scoffed and Percy continued. “No, I’m serious. All those years I spent mooning after Annabeth. Let me guess; you think Will is the best thing since sliced bread, and you can’t believe he even wants to hang out with you because you’re in no way worthy of him? And you don’t want to tell him how you feel because you don’t want to wreck what you have and why would he ever want more of you?” Nico sat there stunned and nodded. Percy smiled. “Yeah, that’s been me about Annabeth since I was thirteen.”

“When did you realize?” Nico asked. “How you really felt, I mean.”

Percy tilted his head in serious thought. “There were a lot of signs,” he said, “like Aphrodite looked like her when I met her in the junkyard… with your sister.” He took a beat; Nico was sure because he still felt guilty about what had happened to her. “But really, it was that night with you. When she pitched herself off that cliff.”

Nico smiled, remembering the evening well. “If Annabeth’s mother is Athena, the goddess of wisdom, why didn’t she know better than to fall off the cliff?” he asked, echoing what he had said to Percy then.

Percy laughed. “I nearly threw _you_ off the cliff for that one,” he said, “but gods, I was just so worried about her. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat… I didn’t know how to exist at camp without her.”

Nico thought about it. Could he live at camp without Will? _Sure_ , the voice in his head said, _but it would definitely be a lot worse_. Nico nodded. “I get that,” he said.

“My advice,” Percy continued, “is just go for it. Sooner rather than later. You’ll be fine.” He patted Nico on the back and stood up. “Am I gonna see you at dinner tonight?”

“Yeah,” Nico said, “I get out of here around six. Oh, and if you see zombies tonight, don’t worry about it. They’re harmless.”

Percy pondered the thought for a minute. “Not going to ask,” he decided. “See you around, Nico.”

Nico smiled and stretched out on his bed, opening his book. An hour later he had finally finished it. “Huh,” he said, looking at the cover, “so that’s what Moby Dick is all about.” He sat, waiting patiently for Will to come and release him.

Without the distraction of reading, he found a pen and began to doodle on the blank pages in the back of his book. A little zombie, a little skull, a cartoon Will. He smiled to himself at that one, hoping someday he would have to opportunity to do a real portrait of the son of Apollo.

Will finally came back around, smiling a little sadly. “Well,” he said, “your wish has come true. You’re finally free of me.”

Nico smiled and stood up, throwing his things in his bag. “Truly, I believe you and I have grown so much over our time together. Plus,” he added, “I’m not free of you yet. Zombies tonight at dinner.”

Will laughed. “Gods,” he said, “just don’t stress yourself. I don’t want you to be back in here tomorrow morning.”

“I don’t either,” said Nico with a smile. “When you said you weren’t allowed to fraternize with your patients earlier, you meant date, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” Will said, scratching the back of his head nervously. “But I don’t see—"

Nico walked over to Will and stood on his tip toes, allowing their lips meet. It was short and sweet, and when Nico pulled back, Will had a dazed look on his face. “Uh…” he began.

Nico cut him off quickly. “It’s a good thing I’m not your patient anymore then.” Will smiled dopily, making Nico think again about how cute he was. This time Nico grabbed on to the front of Will’s tee-shirt and pulled him down. Will was ready this time, responding quickly by grabbing Nico’s head and tangling his fingers in Nico’s hair. Nico realized that he and Will were holding each other so tightly that he couldn’t tell where he ended, and the other boy began. Finally, they broke apart, both breathing a little more heavily than usual. “If we’re going to be seeing a lot of each other this year,” Nico said, “I figured it was best to get that out of the way now.” Will nodded, still with the same stupid grin on his face. “I’m going to dinner. Watch out for the zombies.”

He walked past Will, fully intending to just leave the taller boy standing there, when he felt something tug on his wrist and flip him around. Will pulled him in closely and dipped Nico and they kissed. Nico’s brain short circuited when Will bit his bottom lip. Helping him return to his normal, upright position (which was helpful, because Nico would have fallen on the floor otherwise) Will said, “Sorry, I needed one for the road.”

Nico’s knees were shaking. _Fuck, why was he shaking?_ He nodded. He fully intended to turn around and head to dinner, but all he could do was ask, “One more?”

Will smiled before kissing him once again, more tenderly than any of the previous three had been, Nico sighed against Will’s mouth. He felt like he could do this for the rest of the day. But as his stomach grumbling reminded him, unfortunately they all needed to eat.

Will smiled at him, still holding on to his waist. “Come on,” said Will, holding out his hand, “you’ll sit at our table tonight. I’ll tell Chiron you’re still under observation. No zombies or other Death Boy power displays until tomorrow.

Nico regarded Will’s hand curiously, as if he was concerned it might bite. Will rolled his eyes, grabbing on to Nico’s hand. The touch felt electric. “We just kissed four times,” said Will, “you’re not gonna wimp out on me about holding my hand, are you?”

Nico thought about it for a moment and shook his head. His brought Will’s hand up to his mouth to give it a gentle kiss. He looked at Will and smiled. “Dinner time?”

“Dinner time.”

**Author's Note:**

> leave a comment or kudos to show me you care! holla at me on tumblr [@annabelh](https://annabelh.tumblr.com/)


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